Mullers shoe store to close in Breton Village

GRAND RAPIDS -- Mullers Family Shoe Centers will close its last store by Sept. 1 after 95 years in business.

Company President Paul Muller said the decision was driven by the expiration of the store's lease at Breton Village Mall. The store has been in the shopping center at Breton Avenue and Burton Street SE for 15 years.

The store is taking part in Breton Village's sidewalk sale this week and may offer further discounts to sell off much of its remaining inventory and fixtures.

There is a strong market for a similar shoe store on Grand Rapids Southeast side, but Muller said he could not find a suitable place to relocate.

"This is not a decision that has been done under duress," he said today. It's not like my banks or vendors are on my back. The financials are strong, I'm not closing the business down."

One full-time employee and three part-timers will lose their jobs.

Store Manager Ruth Brower has been with the company for 42 years. Her father worked for Mullers for 50 years.

She said Paul Muller's decision to close the store didn't come as a complete shock.

"We know the kind of business we're doing -- it's just not enough," said Brower, who is looking for a new job. "Then again Mullers has been here for 95 years, so it is something of a surprise.

Muller plans to keep his company's Web site, familyshoecenter.com, up and remain active in the footwear industry as a consultant.

"It's possible that if the right location presented itself and the economics made sense that we would" open another store, Muller said.

The only other Mullers store, one inside Rogers Department Store, closed shortly after Rogers shut down in 2005. At one time the company had five locations in the Grand Rapids area.

"The biggest reason for deciding to close the Breton Village store was the location itself," said Muller, the third generation of his family to run the business. "Within that particular mall there was a lot more that could have and should have been done to enhance the shopping experience."

Grand Rapids development firm Jade Pig Ventures bought the mall in 2002 and began an extensive renovation in 2004 that was supposed to make it more of an upscale retail destination.

Officials from Jade Pig were not available to comment.

Since the renovation several businesses, including a Hallmark store and Heslops have left the mall with few new ones replacing them.

Talbots Kids is expected to close this fall as part of a restructuring by its parent company, leaving another vacancy in the mall's corridor.

Plans for additional construction at the mall have been put on the backburner.

Muller, 55, said the shoe business has evolved over the years, but his store remained a magnet for its Stride Rite shoes and other upscale brands like Ugg and Born.

With the Web store and other future ventures, Muller said he'll keep plenty busy.